The head of a company that makes a downloadable application enabling users to pinpoint police drunken-driving checkpoints says his sales have doubled after efforts by four senators to restrict such apps, reports USA Today. Steve Croke, CEO of Fuzz Alert, also said he might remove the checkpoint locating capability to prove that the app is not designed to help people drive drunk. “It’s like an electrical version of the warning signs you see for curves ahead and so forth,” said Croke, 42. “This is nothing but a warning device, to let people know that they potentially are in an area where you should watch your speed.”
A USA Today story in March noted the growing popularity of apps that allow drivers to pinpoint such police enforcement tools as red-light and speeding cameras, speed traps and sobriety checkpoints. Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer of New York, Harry Reid of Nevada, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Tom Udall of New Mexico asked smartphone makers Apple, Google and Research in Motion to quit selling apps that allow drivers to locate checkpoints, or to disable that function. Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, agreed. Schumer recently cited Fuzz Alert as he talked about “apps that put the public at serious risk.”